After months of waiting and searching around I decided in the end the Samsung Omnia wasn’t go to arrive in Oz anytime soon. Besides which there were a few issues that were concerning me about it which left me balancing between choosing it, or the new HTC Diamond as my replacement PDA.
In the end Telstra solved the problem for me by essentially giving it to me ‘free’ as long as I continued on my current plan. As I had no intention of changing the plan anyway it suited me so I agreed and said thanks. Of course this is the 4Gb model not the 8Gb, but I thought it would be more than adequate for my needs
Well it arrived, is more or less set up, and so far is doing pretty much what I wanted it to be able to do. Of course I’ve been using it as I used the old iMate and haven’t explored the gizmo’s yet but will be starting on that soon… when I get time.
I’ve not read through the manual yet, but I think on balance reading the manual for a change might be productive as I have to sort out a new interface completely different to the ones I’ve used for the past 3 years or so. I’d like to be able to watch movies on it as well so testing out the DivX capabilities will be fun!
Over the weeks since its introduction I’ve heard complaints that it’s not intuitive… it’s slow… battery life is suspect and the rest and while some are clearly rumours spread by iPhone aficionado’s, there *are* issues in several areas that need working on.
It *does* feel slow, subjectively at least, when loading web pages. They seem to take longer to load than previously, but this is almost certainly down to the cpu over head of rendering the higher screen resolution and isn’t that onerous. Battery life is however dire. Even as a phone, coupled with occasional browsing and game playing, the battery is lucky to make it through the day. I’ve a suspicion I’m going to have to shell out a few dollars more for a battery capable of carrying a higher load if I want to watch movies!
The unit as supplied didn’t come with a dedicated car kit in the box, but I have a USB converter for the cigarette lighter socket so I can charge on the move at least. What’s worse is that local suppliers have *no* accessories available at all and say they are having problems sourcing any… which means going to the HTC Online Store and paying top dollar! Bearing in mind the shift of the US$ against the $AU any purchases will end up costing even more!
It’s not all bad of course. The ‘touch-flo’ interface is very nice to play with and looks set to become a favourite. Having said that, one of the best things about the Diamond is the new game called ‘Teeter’ which is simply ‘rolling’ a virtual ball into holes thru various patterns. What makes it special is the tactile feedback you get so that when you ‘hit’ a side you *feel* it at the point it touches the side! 
Really weird til you get used to it… but makes for a really fun experience!!
Conclusions? Well I can’t say I’m ecstatic about it… but it’ll do… for now. There is still massive room for improvement but it is a real step up from the iMate for me. Is it as good as an iPhone? Well that really depend on what you want. The unit is smaller and lighter which is both a good thing *and* a bad thing! 🙂
Ultimately it’s horses for courses. I prefer to use an OS I’m familiar with and WinMobile 6.1 suits me fine. Perhaps the 8Gb model might have been ‘better’ but given my previous usage patterns, I think 4 Gb is sufficient. Right now I’m happy with what I have. 😀
Edit:
Just checked out the prices for Accessories and learned the cost for me to buy a desktop cradle and extended battery pack will be $AU185. Will have to discuss this with the wife before splashing out. No worries – I can manage well enough without either for a while yet.
The Eclectic Interweb 